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The British Virgin Islands, a Caribbean tax haven, is to open an office in Hong Kong, amid mounting pressure on the city itself to be more transparent as offshore havens open up their financial secrets.
The opening of an Asia-Pacific headquarters in Hong Kong is very important to the islands, a British Overseas Territory, said the islands' Premier and Finance Minister, Orlando Smith.
"This government has long viewed the establishment of a far east BVI representative office as a major component of the strategy to expand and deepen the commercial footprint of the territory in this most important global market," Smith said.
More than 40 per cent of the British Virgin Islands' financial services business comes from Asia-Pacific, Smith pointed out. "There is a very strong financial connection between China, Hong Kong, Singapore and the BVI. This connection will be strengthened with the establishment of a formal physical presence there," he said.
The islands' Hong Kong office will officially open this year and service Asia-Pacific, including the mainland, Singapore, Japan and Taiwan, Smith said. The office will act as a point of contact for central banks, monetary authorities and other regulators in the region, he said.
John Bruce, Macau director at Hill & Associates, a Hong Kong-based risk consultancy, said the British Virgin Islands account for most of Hong Kong's offshore business.
As a financial centre, Hong Kong will gradually move towards greater transparency, Bruce predicted. "It's counterproductive for Hong Kong to be seen as less transparent than other first-world financial centres," he said. "We have one of the biggest stock exchanges in the world. I doubt Hong Kong wants to be seen replacing Singapore as a secret haven."
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http://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/1238567/tax-haven-picks-hong-kong-drive-asia